Mychal Thompson played most of his prime with the Portland Trail Blazers but wasn’t able to enjoy a taste of winning until he joined Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the “Showtime” Lakers. The 70-year-old may be a bit biased toward the old-school legends of the game. He recently shared his thoughts on the GOAT debate.
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Thompson believes players who dominated before Michael Jordan and ESPN are often overlooked, that, contrary to popular belief, there were players who came before Jordan who are worthy of being called the greatest. “When the GOAT conversation comes up, you’re right. It’s only LeBron and Michael Jordan, and Kareem’s never mentioned. Or even Wilt Chamberlain. Why isn’t Wilt Chamberlain mentioned?”
Thompson backed his former teammate, Abdul-Jabbar, as the best ever over MJ and LeBron James. Considering Kareem’s entire body of work, Thompson doesn’t believe it’s a hard choice.
“To me, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest player ever,” Thompson said. “He’s the greatest high school player ever. He’s the greatest college player ever, by far. And when you look at his resume in the NBA. Six MVPs, five Finals MVPs, so to me, he’s the greatest ever.”
“Everybody’s a talking head…they just remember Michael Jordan and LeBron and forget that basketball was played long before those guys came into the league.” ️
6x NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deserves more inclusion in convos says Mychal Thompson, agree? pic.twitter.com/n984HuAxsk
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 8, 2025
Thompson had a great understanding of Kareem’s play and was often tasked with guarding him in practice during his first three years with the Lakers. Very few got to see the legendary center’s greatness as closely as Thompson did, so his high praise doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
Mychal Thompson experienced Kareem’s greatness firsthand
Mychal Thompson spent five seasons with Los Angeles. Even though his last two years came after Kareem’s retirement, he had ample opportunity to watch the six-time MVP work. Abdul-Jabbar was clearly slowing down by the time Thompson joined the squad, but he was still a force, even in his late 30s.
Thompson was a double-double machine early in his career, but he was happy to take a backseat to arguably the game’s greatest big man. Thompson didn’t put up gaudy numbers, averaging just 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds throughout his Lakers tenure, but he still accomplished his ultimate goal: He helped the Lakers to their last two titles of the “Showtime” era.
It’s true, Michael Jordan and LeBron James are often the only two names mentioned in the GOAT debate. But Thompson brought up several valid points, which could convince some that Kareem belongs in those conversations, as well.
